Burial Applicant
by xDarkxLightx
Summary: Die for me...you can't save me.    Based off the song Burial Applicant by the J-rock band the GazettE.


"_Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Michael. Happy birthday to you!"_

My parents smiled as I looked at the book before me. Beside it lay my other presents: a hunting rifle that I had wanted for ages and a box full of ammunition for it. Littered around them were the remains of the wrapping paper, little colorful scraps decorating the mahogany wood. In the very center of the table was my cake. Inside the dark kitchen, the fourteen glowing candles erecting from it cast dark shadows on the enclosing walls. From outside, I could hear the howling of the wind as the storm continued to brew, speeding bullet of rain clashing with the shrieks of lightning and loud clashes of thunder. Looking at my parents' faces once more, I turned my eyes the book and placed it in from of me. Its glossy front cover stared back at me as I traced my fingers over the raised title. Burial Applicant. How fitting. And then, I flipped open to the first page, and began to read…

**Once upon a time there was a boy who lived in the city. He lived with his Mama and Papa and they were all very happy together. But one day, the boy did something very bad.**

"_Oh my god, Michael! Put that down! It's not safe—no! Michael, put that gun down now!"_

"_Michael, what are you—Ahh! It hurts! Help me!"_

"_No! Get out! Get all of the other kids out of here, now!"_

"_Teacher! Rei is bleeding! And he's crying! I'm scared!"_

"_Be quiet! Everybody, get outside NOW!"_

**What he did was so bad that he had to go with the police.**

"_Calm down, let's think this through."_

"_No! No I will not calm down. That shrink just told me that my son, OUR son, is crazy!"_

"_But honey, maybe it's best if we let the doctors look at him."_

"_No! No way in Hell am I going to let that over-sized rat-with-a-Ph.D. lay a finger on my son! They're all bastards, the lot of them. That's it, we're leaving this place for good!"_

"_But the police…"_

"_You know what? Fuck them. We are taking our son out of this loony bin now!"_

**His parents loved him so much, and did not want him to be punished, so they secretly took him away to live in a big forest.**

"_Mama, Papa, where are we going? Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong? Why are we moving?"_

"_Hush now, Michael. It's raining and Papa needs to concentrate on the road so we don't get lost. Okay? No, we are not mad at you. You didn't do anything wrong. Just, be quiet for now and let Papa drive carefully. Can you do that for Mama, sweetie?"_

"_Okay."_

"_Good boy. Mama loves you so very much."_

**In the forest where the boy moved to, there were no other kids. At first, the boy did not really mind because he had Mama and Papa. But several years had passed now, and he began to get very lonely.**

**One day, while the boy was outside walking, he met another boy his age too! The boy was very excited and asked, "Who are you? What is your name?"**

**The other boy replied, "I am Michael. Who are you?"**

**The boy happily clapped his hands and gleefully said, "My name is Michael too! Do you want to be my friend?" **

"_Jeez, it's always, 'You're too young!' or 'Maybe next year.' Why don't they just tell me and get it over with. I don't see why we had to move here. It's so boring living out here in the middle of nowhere! There's nothing but tree after tree after tree! I swear, if I'm stuck here any longer, my head will explode! Or the very least, I'll go crazy. Heck, I think I already am! I mean, look at me. I'm walking through the stupid forest talking to myself to crying out loud! If that doesn't scream psycho, then I don't know what does."_

"_Now that'll be a problem, wouldn't it? 'Lil pieces of brain mush goin' splat like bugs on a windshield…but now that I think 'bout it, does paint an interestin' picture."_

"_What? Who's there? Show yourself!"_

"_Yo, chill kid. It's not like I'm some stranger…well then again, to you I probably am."_

"_I'm serious. Come out now or else—"_

"_Or else what? You'll go runnin' to your mommy and daddy? They already think you're crazy. Hell, they locked ya up in this place for a reason, ya know? That's why they keep tryin' to hide the reason why you're stuck here in this joint. They're afraid their lil' baby boy'll go postal again!"_

"_They don't think I'm crazy. They love me."_

"_Heh, that's what ya think. Of course ya think they care. They coddle ya and give ya everything ya want. Oh what was it, right, last year. You were such a brat. Ya kept whining for that new computer. And the year before it was for your own TV set. Well, here's a wake-up call: spoilin' ya don't mean that they care."_

"_How do you know all that? Show yourself. Who are you?"_

"_Jeez, down boy. No need to go bitin' heads off. Ya still want to see me? Fine. Look in the river"_

"_I don't see anyone."_

"_Yes ya do."_

"_All I see is my reflection."_

"_See, ya do see someone."_

"_But what does that have to do with my question?"_

"_Kid, ya sure are dumb, aren't ya? I guess I have to spell it out for ya. The name's Michael. Newsflash for ya boy, I am you."_

**Very quickly, Michael and Michael became good friends. They played tag in the forest together; they climbed trees and told each other scary stories; they went out to the little stream and had picnics together.**

"_Hey Michael?"_

"_Whatcha want? Can't ya see I'm tryin' to sleep?"_

"_You know why I'm stuck here, don't you? It has something to do with when I was eight, doesn't it?"_

"_And why'd ya suspect that?"_

"_Well, it's like I'm missing this giant chunk of time from back then. I can't remember anything at all. One minute, I'm in the city, and the next thing I can remember is being on the car driving out here."_

"_Well, what if it's because ya don't wanna remember? What if ya did somehtin' really bad? Would ya still wanna know?"_

"_Yeah. I would. Does that mean that you do know why I'm stuck here?"_

"_Yep, sure do kid. But, I'm not gonna tell ya just yet. You're still a bit too young. I'll tell ya when you're older."_

"_You know, you sound exactly like my parents."_

"_Heh, well do I know? That ain't good."_

"_Yeah. So, that's why you should tell me what exactly is going on."_

"_Nah. But tell ya what kid, just to prove that I ain't a complete ass yet, I'll at give ya an assured date. When you're thirteen, I'll tell ya anythin' you wanna know."_

"_Really?"_

"_Sure. The past, the present, the future, tho' not too sure how much I can help ya with there. Whatever ya want. So, just be patient for a lil' while longer. _

"_Fine."_

"_There ya go. 'Kay, well I'm goin' back ta sleep."_

"…_Hey."_

"_What now?"_

"_Thanks."_

"_For what? I ain't done much."_

"_Well, first of all, for promising to tell me the truth. And, for being my friend. I mean, I was pretty suspicious in the beginning—you did sound pretty shady at first— but now, I really don't think that you are bad. So, I just wanted to say thanks."_

"_No problem. Now, shut up and let me sleep."_

**While the boy was very happy about making this new friend, his parents go very angry. They did not like his friend at all.**

"_Honey, come here! Look at this."_

"…_Where did you find this?"_

"_It was in Michael's room. You don't think…!"_

"_No! Don't even say it. It can't possibly be him!"_

"_But, all the signs point to…oh god. What if he comes back? We've been here for years and nothing has happened, but what if—"_

"_No! I don't want to think about it. I refuse! Our son is not a psycho. He is a normal boy who has slightly eccentric interests."_

"_But, every time I went up to clean his room, I find stashes of bones and dead animals. Birds, snakes, rodents, I even found a dead cat once! That is not normal! And the blood! At first I thought he just fell down a lot in the woods. Last week, one of his shirts was completely drenched!"_

"…_but…It can't…why? Why our son? Why him?"_

"_I don't know."_

"_Why? Why, dammit?"_

**They decided that the boy had to be punished for making friends with such a bad person **

"**Michael has been such a bad boy, for being friends with the other Michael," Mama told Papa one might. "He has to be taught a lesson."**

"**Yes Mama, you are right," Papa agreed. "We have to teach him that his actions are wrong. We must teach him what is right."**

"**How should we punish him?" Mama asked.**

**Papa thought about it for a while, and then said, "We should kill him. He has been such a bad boy that he must die."**

**Mama nodded up and down. "You are right. We can kill him tomorrow. And then, we can go out to the forest and bury him. But for now, let us go to sleep, Papa."**

"**Yes Mama. Tomorrow, we can kill Michael. Goodnight." Papa turned off the lights, and they went to bed.**

"_That's it! I can't take it anymore!"_

"_But dear…"_

"_You can't say that you haven't thought about it as well before. He's ruined our lives. Because of that thing, look where we are now. We're trapped out here in this wasteland!"_

"_But still, he's are son."_

"_Is he still? Are you sure that is still Michael? Are you sure that it isn't that crazy psychopath? For all we know, he could be plotting right now to kill us too!"_

"_But…"_

"_Haven't you seen that look in his eye? He just stares, as if analyzing the best way to get rid of us. That glazed, blood-thirsty glare. Haven't you see it?"_

"…_Yes."_

"_Doesn't it scare you? It's inhuman! He is not our son! He's a monster, a lunatic, a deranged murderer! He's a walking time bomb! Any second he'll go off and kill us! Quit defending that thing!"_

"_I'm not! It's just…I'm afraid."_

"_That's why, we have to act now. The sooner he is gone, the sooner we can have our lives back! We can go back to the city again. We can start new lives and actually be happy and not have to constantly look behind our shoulders in fear. We can actually live!_

"_Baby, we need to do this. For five years we've lived under the same roof as that psychopathic killer. Now, we can finally end it. Just one squeeze of the trigger, it'll be all over. Sweetie, please, are you with me on this? Say you'll help me. After this, we'll live happily ever after like you've always wanted. We can go to the Caribbean, Malibu, wherever you want. Please, baby, say that you are with me on this. Are we together on this?"_

"_Okay."_

**What they did not know was that the boy's friend, Michael, was standing outside the door the whole time and had heard everything. He ran back to the boy's room.**

"**Michael! Wake up!"**

"**Yes Michael? What is it?" the boy yawned as he sat up sleepily.**

"**Mama and Papa say that they are going to kill you and bury you in the forest tomorrow."**

"**Oh. That is a problem, isn't it?" the boy said as he scratched his head. "What should I do?"**

"**Why don't you kill they before they kill you?" the boy's friend suggested.**

"**That is a good idea!" the boy agreed. In fact, the idea was not only a good idea, it was a great idea. You see, tomorrow was the boy's birthday, and his parents promised to give him a hunting rifle as a present. "I can use my new rifle to shoot them, and then we can go bury them in the forest!"**

"**Wow! I would have never thought of that! " The boy's friend stared with awe. "You sure are smart, Michael!"**

"**Thank you, Michael." The boy looked down very embarrassed. "Let us go to sleep now. I am very tired. Goodnight."**

"**Goodnight Michael."**

"_Yo kid. Wake up. I've got somethin' ta tell ya. It's important."_

"_It's one in the morning, so it had better be a life or death situation, or else I'm going to back to sleep."_

"_Hey, how'd ya know?" _

"_What? How did I know what?"_

"_That it was life or death? How'd ya know that your parents were plannin' ta off ya? You're psychic or somethin'"_

"_They're planning on killing me? I'm their son! They wouldn't do that!"_

"_Nope. Sorry kiddo, but that's what I heard. While you were sleeping, I took the liberties of borrowing your body. I was hungry and wanted a midnight snack, and when I passed by their room, I heard them talkin'. They're plannin' to knock ya off tomorrow."_

"_But why? I never did anything! Why would they want to kill me?"_

"_Well actually, ya did do somethin'. I was plannin' on telling ya tomorrow, bein' it's your thirteenth birthday and all, and my promise, but I guess I might as make it an early present. So, the whole reason you're under house arrest here's 'cause you're a murderer."_

"_What?"_

"_You're a murderer, a killer, the harbinger of death, yada yada yada. That's the big secret. When ya were eight, ya killed your classmates. Well technically it wasn't really you, it was me, but that's beside the point. Then, when ya were about ta be sent off ta the 'sylum, your parents stole ya away an' brought ya here. Selfish them, eh? They claimed that they loved ya too much to let ya be kept locked up, but I figure they were just too proud to admit that their son was crazy."_

"_Wait, you killed those people? And I'm being blamed for this?"_

"_Hey, hold off kid. Listen ta me. Have I lied ta ya? No. But your parents on the other hand, they've kept ya in the dark for the past five years. An' now, they wanna kill ya. Who'd ya rather believe? Them, or me, who's been your faithful companion for the past two years? I'm your friend, right? I'm the one who finally told ya the truth. Ya trust me, right?"_

"…_Yes, I trust you. But, they're my parents and…"_

"_Screw your parents! What did they ever do for ya? They gave ya stuff, but that's it. Ta them, you're just another mouth ta feed. Face it! They don't care for ya. They're afraid of ya, an' so they wanna kill ya."_

"_What are we going to do?"_

"_I'll tell ya what. We'll get them at their own game. We'll get 'em before they get us."_

**The next day, there was a party to celebrate the boy's birthday. Mama and Papa decorated the house with all different colors of ribbon, and Mama made a big chocolate cake, the boy's favorite, for dinner that night. When Mama and Papa gave the boy his presents, he jumped up and down.**

"**Thank you! I am so happy!" the boy cried as he ran his hands along the smooth barrel of the rifle. He took two bullets form the box that they had also given him, and put them in the gun. Then, he raised the gun up and fired. Boom. Boom.**

"_Wha—Michael, what are you doing?"_

"_What does it look like, Mother?"_

"_Please Michael, put that gun down now. Let's talk about it."_

"_Talk about what, Father? How you guys wanted to kill me?"_

"_Kill you? Now, why would we want to do that? We love you!"_

"_You guys love me, huh?"_

"_Yes! We love you Michael. We love you so much. Please, don't hurt us."_

"_Die for me. If you really loved me, you would die for me…"_

"_Wait Michael! Stop! It's Him, isn't it? We can save you! Just let us go, and we can go back to the city and get you help!"_

"…_You can't save me."_

**When he looked down, his parents were on the ground, dead. "Okay Michael," the boy yelled, "I did it. Can you help me go bury then in the forest?"**

"**Okay. Let us go." The boy's friend grabbed Papa, as the boy grabbed Mama.**

"_Shh, Michael, it's okay. Ya did the right thing."_

"_I know. It's just, what if they figure it out. The cops, I mean? I don't want to get arrested. I don't want to be in trouble."_

"_No, no. It's okay. Nobody knows that we are out here. Nobody will know that happened. Now, let's go bury them. And then, everything will be over."_

"_Yes, everything will finally be over."_

**And so, Michael and Michael went out to the forest, dug two holes, and buried Mama and Papa. Then, the two boys went back to the house, washed their hands, and ate the cake that Mama had made for the boy's birthday. It was very delicious. And in the big forest, they lived happily ever after.**

When I finished reading, I closed the book and just sat there, looking at it.

"It's been a year since then, eh Michael?"

"Yeah, it has," I reply. I glance across the table at the smiling picture of my parents. It was taken on their honeymoon, before I was born. They look so happy together; Mama sparkled in her pretty sundress, and Papa had his arms wrapped around her as they smiled for the camera.

"Ya having regrets?"

"No," I looked at the rifle beside me. Reaching out, I scooped up a handful of the bullets, and just watched as they slid through my fingers, dropping back into the box. Clink. Clink. Clink. "No, I don't regret it at all."

It was silent for a moment, and I observed how the orange glow form the candles in the otherwise dark kitchen made it seem as if everything were on fire. Burning…

"Say, Michael," he said, breaking the silence.

"Hmm, yeah?" I picked up my mug of hot chocolate, peering over its rim through the steam of the hot liquid.

"Happy birthday." He chuckled, and I couldn't help but give a laugh of my own. I raised my cup in the air as a toast, and I could feel a grin creeping onto my face.

In the darkness of the kitchen, illuminated by only the 14 candles in the cake, as the rain poured down, pounding on the roof, I sat there, just me and Michael, and I smiled.

"Yes. Happy birthday…to us."


End file.
